Receptacle lifter



' April 23, 1935. J. J. SMITH RECEPTACLE LIFTER Original Filed Sept. 18, 1931 IN EN Z'OR. LAW/5 IS/w 7h,

ATTO

Patented Apr. 23, 1935 RECEPTACLEY LIFTER James J. Smith, Philadelphia, Pa. Mabel Smith and Provident Trust Company, executors of said James J. Smith, deceased, a'ssignors, by

*mesne' assignments, to Mabel Smith, Glen-1,

side, Pa.-

' Y 5 Application September 18,1931, Serial No. 563,516 1 v i I Renewed September 13, 1931, I Y zol ims fwi.29%27),

'- he.pr se tlinv nt ontrelates to lifti g devices andmore particularly to autensil fonliftingcarryinaand the handling of paper containers, such as now coming intouse for ice cream. 7

Ice cream as heretofore-"handled has, been packed in cylindrical-metal cans, each of one or more gallons capacity, but on account of the weight and expense of metal cans'there' hasbeendeveloped a. container made of paper which serves allpurposeof the metal cans except for the difficulty experienced in lifting the containers by,

the customary lifting utensils. No lifter has heretofore been devised which will lift and carry the paper containers without tearing and breaking the fragile material.

Some of the objects of the present invention are to provide an improved hand lifter for containers made of paper or other fragile material;

to provide a lifter which will support a-paper container from one side only; to provide a lifter for paper containers which will grip and support a container without damage thereto; to provide means operating upon one side of a paper container for lifting such container while maintaining it in a vertical position; and to provide other improvements as will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawing Fig. 1 represents a side elevation of a lifter for paper containers embodying one form of the present invention; Fig. 2 represents a rear elevation of the same; Fig. 3 represents a side elevation of the lifter of the present invention in operative position upon a container; Fig. 4 represents a side elevation of a modified form of the invention; and Fig. 5 represents the lifter of Fig. 4 as applied to a container.

Referring to the drawing and particularly to Figs. 1 to 3 this form of the invention consists of a body Ill formed from shaped flat bar stock having a. handle portion I I with its side edges rounded for easy grasping. In use the handle I I is positioned substantially horizontal or parallel to the top of the container which the lifter is to engage.

For attaching the lifter to 'a paper container the body I I] has an extension I2 arranged to extend downwardly alongside of the container I3 in close proximity thereto and terminating in one or more sharp pointed piercing teeth I4. In the preferred form there are two of these teeth I4 having ends which lie in the arc of a circle conforming in radius to that of the container with which the lifter is to be used. The length of the teeth I4 is such as to bite well into the side of the container to form points of force application which travel lines to a point of reaction provided by a thrust abutment I5. This abutment I 5 projects downwardly; from the body Ill-and has an edge I 6 sospacedfrom the extension I2 as to receive the thickness of the container wallbetween the two, parts It should also be noted that, a. rounded clearance ,I 1,,is formed at the junction of'the abutment- I5 with the body I0 which serves to permit such buckling of the container edge as occurs to take place in the clearance; and thus. form,- an. auxiliary obstacle to loosening of the container should such happen. The end of the abutment I 5 terminates in a taper forming a sharp point I8 so that the lifter can be quickly attached to a closed container by jabbing the point I8 through the top at the proper location to bring the teeth I4 against the side in penetrating position.

In order to maintain a container in a vertical position while lifting it from one side only by the lifter of the present'invention, that portion of the body I0 between the handle I I and the extension l2 has a new' and novel configuration acting to so afiect the lift forces as to maintain the center of gravity of the container substantially in the vertical axis of the container. This result is accomplished by bending the continuation 20 of the handle II downwardly and laterally at an obtuse angle to the handle proper and then giving it a rounding bend into a portion 2| which forms an acute angle to the horizontal with its lower end merging into the extension I2 at an angle of substantially one hundred and fifteen degrees. Thus the vertical upward pull of the handle I I is translated, through the angularly arranged parts 20 and 2| and the action of the teeth I4 and I5, into a vertical force acting through the center of gravity of the container.

' The form of the invention shown in Figs. 4 and 5 ismore particularly adapted for use with paper containers which are relatively shallow with re-' spect to height and in the embodiment here shown by way of example the body 22 and handle 23 are of substantially the same contour as heretofore described and in order to maintain the handle in horizontal position when operating and retain the container in a vertical position while being lifted or carried. The extension 24 which is arranged to parallel the side of the container is of a length substantially the same as the height of the container and carries a footpiece 25' projecting inwardly toward the container at substantially a right angle to form a ledge upon which the bottom edge of the container can seat. This lug extension 24 is turned inwardly at its upper end to pass over the top edge of the container and has a fulcrum lug or abutment 26 depending from its under side and so located and positioned as to enter beneath the rim 2'! of the container. This rim 2'! is usually of metal and is beaded to receive and retain the paper disc which forms the top. In other Words the distance between the abutment and the ledge 25 is substantially equal to the vertical length of the container so that when the handle is placed upon one side of a container and brought to its operative position the abutment 26 can be forced between the paper top and the rim bead to effect anchoring with the' bead of the rim. When the handle of this form of the invention is in operative position upon one side of the container the handle 23 projects diametrically across the top of the container where it cm be g rasped at that side and the container lifted or carried from one place to another.

It will now be apparent that a complete, unitary lifter has been devised which can be quickly attached to a container of paper or other fragile material and will support the weight of the container and its contents without danger of distorting, tearing, or otherwise injuring the container. Also it will be noted that the, parts have been so ingeniously associated together as to alter the direction of the resultant'oi the applied forces to such an extent as to maintain the center of gravity of the containerwhen suspended from the lifter within the vertical axis of the container.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A lifter for paper containers comprising a substantially straight handle having one end extended laterally at an obtuse angle, container piercing teeth at the extremity of said extended portion, and an abutment carried by said angled extension and coacting through the side of a container with said teeth to grip one side of said container, the angle of said extension being such with respect to said handle as to maintain the center of gravity of a container in its vertical axis during a lifting operation.

2. A lifter for cylindrical paper cans comprising a handle arranged in operative position to extend across the top of a can to be lifted, an extension disposed at an angle to said handle, a plurality of teeth on said extension and projecting toward the side of said can and adapted to bite intothe wall of the can, the ends of said teeth terminating in the line of a circle having the same radius as said can in order to simultaneously contact with the outside wall of said can when said litter is in use, and a member projecting from said extension above the plane of said teeth for coacting with the wall of said can at the opposite side from said teeth.

JAMES J. SMITH. 30 

